Role Reversal
by ARMV7
Summary: Ever wonder what would happen if Cinder and Ruby switched bodies? Well wait no more! Art / fic trade with the talented Kinzaibatsu91 on Tumblr! [DISCONTINUED]
1. Part 1

_**A/N **_**Another project I get to do with Kin! This is the BodySwitch AU, in which Ruby and Cinder switch bodies, awesome right? Just an art/fic trade that I can't wait to dive into, so, let's get started. **

**~Hope this works Kino!~**

People say that having a proper daily routine is the chief way to maintain a balance between life's ups and downs. It offers an organized plan that remains the same and is, for the most part, resilient to faltering.

Such was the case with Weiss Schnee; as planning and organization were her biggest Forte. Alongside being a huntress that is. She never had to worry about being late, or not handing in an assignment on time because her _routine _offered a straight path laid out specifically for her.

But that was before Beacon, before RWBY, before... Ruby herself.

It would seem that Ruby's sole purpose in the heiress' life was to teardown all of the hard work and organization she had put forth in education, and replace it with discord and chaos.

Blake and Yang didn't help either.

A prime example of this was mornings. Before Beacon Weiss would wake up at a appropriately determined time and took on the day -already knowing what it had in store for her. Now, mornings in the dorm were always... different.

It was early, the sun had just begun to poke up above Vale's beautiful Horizon and bathe the land in brilliant yellows and oranges. Weiss lay in bed, eyes scrutinizing the bunk above her own. With Ruby around; Weiss' internal clock had been thrown completely out of whack. Some days she woke up exactly at the same moment Ruby did, other days it was later, and then there was days like today where she woke up before her crimson haired partner.

She could just sneak up out of bed and slip into the bathroom to get ready, but that ran the risk of Ruby waking up and entering the bathroom while Weiss was already in there; creating a _very _awkward situation that would no doubt result in a lot of "I'm sorry Weiss'!" And/or "Ruby! I'm going to kill you!"

Shuffling on her bed, Weiss gently closed her eyes -Not to fall back asleep, but to enjoy the last few moments of silence she undoubtedly had left.

Her brief relaxation only lasted a few seconds as the bed above hers began to creak and shift, signaling that Ruby was in fact awake and would likely try to-

"Ga-Whoa!"

**THUD!**

"Owwhh..."

Weiss shot out of bed as Ruby had just promptly rolled off and fallen out of her own, hitting the surface with a floor-racking thud. It was odd; as Ruby would always pull off some weird gymnastic moves to leave bed, never once had she fallen off.

Weiss ruhsed to the groaning Ruby's side, looking over her with a worried and annoyed expression. "Ruby? Are you alright?"

The crimsonette shook her head, trying to stop the room from spinning and rid her mind of its current hazy state. "Mrgh, wha?"

_"__MMnnmmmRggnff"_ All of the commotion from the red and white half of the dorm effectively stirred the yellow and black half awake. With over exaggeration, Yang threw her sheets around and rolled over, facing the wall rather than the scene in the room. Blake cracked one eye open and copied the blonde's moves too. Rolling over and attempting to ignore the situation.

"Weiss..." Yang yawned. "It's too early for this..."

Weiss stood back from Ruby's side and glared at the blonde mess on the bed. "Ruby just fell out of bed! You're her sister; you do something!" She huffed.

Ruby eyed the standing form of Weiss above her, and the approaching blonde coming from her right. _'What's going on...?'_

"Ruby? Are. You. O-kay?" Weiss asked again, this time her tone an octave more annoyed.

Ruby sat up rubbing the back of her head. "W-wha? W-who's that?"

The heiress was now visibly glaring at Ruby. "Ruby Rose, I don't have time for games!"

"What's going... on?" She asked again.

"Ugh!" Weiss tossed her hands up in exasperation. "I don't have time for this." The heiress reached for the nearest towel and stormed off into the bathroom. Yang had held back until Weiss promptly 'gave up' on Ruby. With her out of the way she reached the still prone crimsonette and outstretched her hand. "You really got her this morning." The blonde smiled.

Ruby reluctantly grabbed the blonde's hand and was pulled up in a surprisingly strong grip. "Her? I don't..."

"Haha! Sis, you can cut the act now, she's gone." Yang patted Ruby's back before walking back to her own side of the room and jostling Blake from her slumber. 'Ruby' stood there, scratching her head in a completey dumbfounded stupor.

_'Ruby? Sis? Where the hell am I? This isn't my room.' _

"Mhn, Morning Ruby." Blake greeted.

The crimsonette turned and eyed the Faunus widely. _'Who's this?' _Blake continued to eye Ruby, patiently waiting for a response. She was expecting an over excited: 'Good Morning Blake!' Not a quiet and confused Ruby standing awkwardly in the middle of the room.

"Is she okay?" Blake asked Yang.

"Heh, Yeah she's fine, you just missed the joke she just played on Weiss; like she was pretending she couldn't remember anything. 'What's going on?'." Yang mimicked 'Ruby' in a sultry tone.

"Oh, that's kinda funny. You want to go get breakfast? Classes start later today." Blake said to Yang who was already standing by the door; raring to go. "Sure!" The blonde beamed. Both girls slipped on some more appropriate clothing and quickly left the room, leaving the confused girl alone and to her own devices.

Before 'Ruby' had a chance to assess her situation, Weiss burst through the bathroom door clad in a long white towel. "Bathrooms all yours, if you're done playing around." She spat.

"S-Sure. Ruby absent-mindedly nodded.

Without second thought, Ruby bulldozed past Weiss, pushing the heiress out of her way as she entered the bathroom and slammed the door behind her.

"I don't even want to know." Weiss sighed.

_'This can't be, this can't be, this can't be!'_

'Ruby' rushed across the cold tiled floor and slid directly in front of the large floor to ceiling mirror that paralleled the sink basin. The girl brushed the disheveled hair from her eyes and-

Almost fainted at what she saw.

Last time _she _checked, _she _wasn't a short fifteen year old girl with silver eyes and Crimson highlighted hair...

_'What the going on!'_

This made no sense! She said her goodnights to Mercury and Emerald and fell asleep not long after; and now she wakes up, in this girls... body?

Wait a minute...

_'If I'm in her body then does that mean..._'

Oh-no...

'Ruby' ran away from the mirror so fast it looked like she was being pursued by it. She exploded back into the dorm room and was already hurriedly making her escape.

"Ruby what's with you this morning?" Weiss asked as she fiddled with her scroll. Menacingly, 'Ruby' turned to face the heiress. "Quiet, do not ask questions you don't deserve the answer to, Schnee."

Weiss backpedaled at Ruby's odd behavior. "E-Excuse me?"

'Ruby' gave no response, as she was bent on getting out of the dorm room as fast as possible. She swung the front door open and was gone in flash, albeit a 'semblance-free' one.

'Ruby' ran through the halls, she was still dressed in her pyjama ensemble, but right now that mattered null. If a 'switch' did so happen to occur, Cinder, currently in Ruby's body, prayed that the naive young girl didn't mess anything up. After all, not everyone is cut out to be a criminal mastermind; especially a fifteen year old huntress in training.

_Meanwhile..._

_**"AAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!" **_

A ghastly scream of stark realization rung through the halls of the eastern dormitory. More specifically from the dorm room belonging to Cinder, Mercury, and Emerald. The source? Cinder Fall herself.

Sort of.

She currently stood in the center of the room. Dressed in her Haven school uniform with Mercury and Emerald standing by her side.

Everything was so hazy this morning that 'Cinder' hand come to the realization that this was _not _her room, or _her _body for that matter. She had dressed and prepared herself for the day; all had seemed a little off but not enough to raise suspicion.

Until Mercury came out of nowhere and gave her a "Morning Cinder."

She was a little frightened at first as to why Mercury was just standing there with Emerald not to far off. Mercury had tossed her a handheld mirror to try and poke fun, and that's when the ear - piercing scream had rung out.

She was in the body of a young woman with deep contrasted hair and sharp saffron eyes, in a room that held none of her teammates, and was bunkbed - free.

Everything seemed a little shorter too.

_'Oh no! What's going on! Why am I here!' _

'Cinder' still stood there, centered in the room and holding the mirror in a shaky grip. 'Her body' completely locked in fear and confusion.

"What're your trying to do? Wake up the dead?" Mercury whined, still recovering from 'Cinder's' odd outburst.

Her mouth flapped open and closed like a fish, "I...I...I, what? I d-don't... is this..." She sputtered.

"Are you okay?" Emerald asked, somewhat worried.

_'I gotta get outta here!' _

"Uhhm, o-of course I'm okay! Me? Totally fine." 'Cinder' spoke loudly, in a tone that was at least a few pitches higher than normal.

"Stop acting all weird, you're creeping me out." Mercury complained once more.

"S-Sorry." The ebony-haired girl muttered. "I'm gonna... go?"

_'I'll use my semblance!'_

'Cinder' bent forward into a sprinting stance, the girl brought her hands back and prepared to dash out of the room at Mach speed. Both Mercury and Emerald watched in bewilderment as Cinder dashed forward and-

Slipped on the oak floors and crashed into the door face first.

Mercury exploded with laughter. "Ppfftt, wow, seriously; whatever's wrong with you better stay because it is hilarious!"

Emerald glared at the silver - haired boy before rushing over the downed 'Cinder's' side. She instinctively reached out a helping hand to 'Cinder' but the young woman rolled out from underneath the crimson eyed girl and dahsed out the door, rubbing her head the whole way.

"Do you think she's okay? It's kinda weird." Emerald winced as the door slammed shut.

Mercury was unable to respond, still rolling on the floor in a laughing stupor at what his cunning and brilliant, criminal-mastermind leader just did.

It wasn't everyday you got to see Cinder crash face first into a door.

'Cinder' rushed through the halls, her quest? Get back to the _proper _dorm room ASAP and figure out what on Remnant was going on! She continued to run massaging the spot that would no doubt bruise on her head.

_'This is probably just a bad dream.'_

To try and prove so, 'Cinder' brought her palm up to her shoulder and gave it the most pleading and painful pinch possible.

Nothing.

_'Oh no, oh no! What am I gonna do? What if they don't believe me? _

A much more important question crossed her mind;

_'What if I'm stuck like this... forever?'_

She didn't even want to think about that. 'Cinder' rounded a corner and bumped into another student, effectively knocking them to the floor. "Sorry!" She called out over her shoulder.

She focued her gaze forward, only to be met by...

Herself.

'Cinder' and 'Ruby' both came to a sudden halt. Both girls now looking at each-other in complete bewilderment.

"You. Did you do this?" 'Ruby' seethed.

"W-What? What'd I do?" 'Cinder' retorted.

The crimsonette facepalmed. "It appears we've switched bodies, and I want to know if you had anything to do with it."

The taller girl crossed her arms. "Wait so you and I..."

"Yes."

"And we're..."

"Yes."

"O-Kay... what're we gonna do? We should tell someone!" 'Cinder' panicked.

"No!" _'That's the last thing I need.' _'Ruby' thought. "Just... keep quiet. We'll figure this out in time, and handle it ourselves; for now, just..."

"Just what, just what?!" 'Cinder' was visibly freaking out at this point.

'Ruby' thought of a plan, or rather, the first thing that came to mind. "We can't raise suspicion, so you're going to have to act like me, and il, have to act like you."

"Okay, and how do I do that?" 'Cinder' pleaded.

"Well~..." _'Here we go...'_


	2. Part 2

**Quick thing: I'm not sure if this will have some Romance added in [It probably will], but if it does; expect it to be hilarious. From here on, this will be a combination of Kino's ideas/drawings, my ideas, and your ideas. So don't hesitate to drop an idea. Read on.**

Part 2. Practice.

"Okay, and how do I do that?" 'Cinder' pleaded.

"Well, first of all; settle down a bit. You're only making it-"

_"Hey Ruby!" _

'Ruby' checked over her shoulder, eyes locking onto the source of the voice that had just interrupted her. Weiss was standing at the end of the corridor, arms crossed and eyeing her down sternly.

"Oh no! It's Weiss." Cinder cried.

"Look, we'll meet up later to discuss this, keep quiet around Mercury and Emerald. I don't want to draw any unwanted attention." Ruby spoke sternly.

"B-But what am I supposed to do?" Cinder was already panicking again.

Ruby stopped in her tracks and turned around. "Just... think before you act. I'm going now."

"Hey! Same goes for you, you know."

'Ruby' waved the body she should be in, off and approached the white-clad heiress. "Ruby, you dunce! You can't run around in your pajamas all day. We have classes to attend, and now's not the time for funny business." Weiss gestured for Ruby to come back to the dorm room.

"Meet me in the courtyard later tonight. We'll talk there. Understood?" She called out again.

'Cinder' gave a nervous nod to answer Ruby's question, and not soon after; Weiss began the process of dragging Ruby back to team RWBY's dorm room.

"Why did you run off like that? And, more importantly; who was that girl?" Weiss continued pulling on 'Ruby's' wrist.

"Is that all of your questions, or will there be more?" Ruby spoke, her words laced with malice.

"What's your problem?" Weiss recoiled. "You've been acting- ow!"

Ruby promptly yanked her way out of the grip the heiress had on her wrist, effectively pulling her to the side and pushing her against a wall. Ruby stepped up to the heiress and brought her face inches from hers. "I'll ask again. Anymore questions?"

"N-No." Weiss choked out, largely awed by her leaders strange, almost opposite behavior.

"Good, now let's go." Ruby's demeanor twisted into a soft smile before she relinquished her grip on Weiss and carried on back towards the dorm. _'Too easy' _she mulled.

A short, quiet walk later, Ruby returned to the dorm room first with Weiss not too far behind. The first thing she took note of was the return of Blake and Yang. Both of them finishing their morning routines and getting ready for a slew of classes ahead of them.

"Hey guys!" Yang waved.

"Uh, Yang? Where's Zwei?" Weiss asked, noticing the absence of her four legged companion.

"He's over at JNPR's room remember?"

"Oh, right." A door closed on the far side of the room, displaying that Ruby had entered the dorms powder room. Hopefully to prepare for today's classes. Weiss had been so adamant about this specific day because there was a mid-term test in Oobleck's Historical studies class.

And when it came to school work; it was neither here nor there for Ruby.

Not soon after Ruby emerged from the restroom fully dressed in her Beacon uniform, bar her cape/hood that is.

"Good, you're ready. Now let's go, I don't want to be late for today's test." Weiss gestured by the door.

"Hey Ruby?" Yang butted in. The girl turned around to face the blonde. Yang stood there -arms wide open. "Good luck hug?" She smiled.

Ruby flashed Yang an expression as plain as day, "No, keep to yourself."

The blonde's cheery mood was torn in half by her sisters rude comment. She slumped forward and turned away from them. 'Ruby' rolled her eyes at the saddened blonde and followed Weiss out of the dorm room.

"What was that about? You never turn down your sisters hugs."

Ruby grinned mischievously. "Well... today things are a little... different, Schnee."

"O-Kay." Weiss started to feel nervous as to how Ruby was acting. She oust those thoughts quickly however; as she had a very important test to ace. She had tried to get Ruby to study -but the girl was just so thick headed sometimes. Usually their sessions would end up with Ruby going into a sugar-coma, or Weiss reaching the end of patience and giving up.

She just hoped Ruby would pass.

_Meanwhile..._

'Cinder' tip toed down the dormitory hallways, it was still early enough in the morning to warrant some other students sleep, so she tried to remain as quiet as possible. In her mad dash to find Ruby; the route back to her respective dorm room was unknown. She didn't know the room number or which hallway it was located in.

"Oh no..." She sighed nervously. 'Cinder' honestly had no idea what to do. _'Does she have classes? Missions? Wait, classes! I don't know any of the senior stuff! What am I gonna do!?'_

She kept up her aimless walking, not knowing where to go was already sending her into another panic fit.

"Okay... Just relax." 'Cinder' shook her body, trying to ease herself from panicking.

_"Would you shut-up. I think she went this way."_

Cinder stalled on the spot at the voice ringing out from around the corner. _'Emerald'_

As the voice grew closer and footsteps louder, Cinder planted herself inside the doorframe of the nearest dorm room, hoping it would mask her presence.

"C'mon, that was pretty funny." Mercury laughed.

Suddenly the footsteps stopped. Cinder's eyes went wide as sweat beaded on her forehead. She ceased her breathing and forced herself

"She probably went outside or something, this way." She heard Mercury point out.

_'Please don't be this way, Please don't be this way, Please don't be this way' _

The footsteps dulled off from loud clicks, to soft pitter patter and faded off down the opposite hallway.

"Yes!" 'Cinder' whisper - shrieked. She peeled herself from the door and let out a long breath. With crisis averted, 'Cinder' decided to resume her mission to find her dorm room.

After what seemed like an eternity, 'Cinder' finally managed to find the dorm room she'd be staying in for an unknown amount of time. She lurched inside and slammed the door behind her.

_'Just do what Cinder would do._ _can't be that hard right? Oh who am I kidding, I can't-' _she was cut from her thoughts by an audible growl from her stomach, reminding her that she hadn't eaten yet this morning.

_"I guess I could eat. Just hope no one sees me."_

_**######**_

"Alright children, I assume you all studied for today's test, yes?" Oobleck called from the front of the lecture hall. In his right hand was a stack of papers, and in his left was his trademark coffee cup.

The room fell silent. "I see, well good luck on today's test, and remember; failure is not an option." His tone dropped to dead serious at the end of his sentence. In a handful of quick movements; Oobleck had successfully handed out the tests and resumed his place at the front of the room.

'Ruby' looked down at the sheets placed in front of her. _'This girls got it easy'_. She mulled over her options; either she could completely flunk the test just to spite the girl who _should _be writing it, or; pass the thing with flying colors and irritate Weiss even further.

_'That girl is awfully entertaining when she's mad...' _

Mind made up, 'Ruby' put pen to paper and got down to work, burning through each question like nothing. Occasionally Weiss would glance over to see how she was doing, and in turn 'Ruby' would pretend to scribble all over the paper, pushing Weiss into a silent rage.

Halfway through the period, 'Ruby' dramatically slammed her pen down and took her sheet over to Dr. Oobleck.

"Mrs. Rose, you're finished already?" He inquired.

"Of course I am, why wouldn't I?" She didn't even wait for him to respond before turning around and heading back to her seat.

"Ruby." Weiss whispered. "Are you serious, that was a big test, you're going to flunk."

The Crimson - haired girl leaned back in her seat. "Don't worry Weiss, everything will be just fine~"

She continues to watch the silent classroom around her.

_'Hm, I could get used to this...'_

_**######**_

"Yes, finally." 'Cinder' exclaimed. She had just returned from the canteen. Her original plan involved getting something to eat and then hopefully finding a hidden spot to eat in.

And it would've worked... if Mercury and Emerald hadn't shown up.

She had to duck behind tables and other students to avoid a confrontation with those two -mostly because she wouldn't know what to say _or _do.

So 'Cinder' grabbed as many cookies as one small plate could carry, and rushed back to the dorm room to eat. This place had been the best option; as the last she saw of Mercury and Emerald was them browsing through the various types of food Beacon had to offer.

Or so she thought.

'Cinder' set the plate down on a nearby study table and took residence next to it. She stood there, eyes drinking in the mouth watering sight in the table. Would the real Cinder eat cookies like a mad woman?

Who cares.

As if she was testing the proverbial waters, 'Cinder' dutifully grasped the first cookie residing at the top of the heap. She brought it up to her lips and nibbled it carefully.

Gentle nibbles quickly escalated, as she started reveling in the all to familiar taste of a delectable cookie. Within seconds, 'Cinder' voraciously devoured one cookie after the other.

Whether it be this body or her own; she was reduced to an animal when cookies were brought into the equation.

In her stupor, she failed to realize the two awestruck individuals coming in from the doorway. Both of them standing in confusion and humor at what their 'brilliant' boss was doing.

"C-Cinder?" A familiar voice called out.

Uh oh.

Seemingly carved from stone, 'Cinder' gulped down the contents in her mouth and turned to face Emerald.

"Uhh..." was all she could muster.

"Are you eating cookies?" Mercury questioned, visibly trying to stifle a laugh.

"What? No." She absent - mindedly swiped the plate off of the table behind her. "Why would you ask that?"

"Well there's crumbs all over your top, and you're still chewing."

She gulped again. "No I'm not."

Emerald looked to Mercury to see his reaction on the situation. He took note of this and looked back at her. "What? I'm just mad she didn't save me any." He joked. The kickboxer walked over towards Cinder and stood at her side. "If she wants to act all crazy than let her."

'Cinder' glared at him and pushed him back. "I'm not crazy, you... you jerk!"

Just like before, Mercury was on the floor in a fit of laughter, all at the expense of Cinder's poor comeback.

Emerald decided the best course of action was to just leave and deal with it later. The scene she left to was a chortling Mercury and a pouting Cinder.

Emerald could feel a headache coming on. Gently massaging her temples her mind could only bring one coherent thought together;

_'What is going on today?'_

_**######**_

Nightfall had come to Beacon Academy. Remnants shattered moon hung high above the eastern dormitories courtyard. 'Ruby' sat impatiently on the courtyards fountain, waiting for the real her to show up.

It wasn't long before she heard the irregular clicking of heels on concrete followed by muffled groans and sighs. Now standing; 'Ruby' shifted around to face the person she'd been waiting for. "Red, what is this?" 'Ruby' shouted a little. For unknown reasons, that girl had decided to wear the dress and heels rather than the perfectly normal and comfortable, Haven uniform. 'Cinder' approached, tripping on the heels and... scratching at her sides?

"Hey." She whispered.

"You don't have to whisper. We're alone."

"Oh." 'Cinder' continued to scratch at her sides. "Gah, why's this thing so itchy?"

"It's never itchy on me, or you... whatever." Upon closer examination 'Ruby' instantaneously realized the source of the itching...

"You... you have the dress on inside out." She facepalmed.

"Oooh, hehe, whoops."

"..."

"So why'd you want to meet out here?"

"We need to learn how to act like each other until we, or I, solve this."

"What!?" 'Cinder' recoiled. "What do you mean 'I', _we _are in this together. I can help too."

"Fine. So to start, we must-" 'Ruby' promptly stopped speaking at the sound of scratching again.

"Look, go change now before you rip my dress."

"Okay!" 'Cinder' beamed, most likely to be happy of getting out of the dress she had no idea why she put on in the first place.

"Don't smile like that!"

"Sorry..."

_'It's going to be a long night.'_

**:You guys want trash? kin-kytrash is the blog to follow. Kino's blog dedicated to the trash we all love. Check out both our blogs for updates and art for this. **

**More to follow!**


	3. Part 3

_**A/N **_**Man I am so sorry for not updating this in months. More so for giving you such a small chapter. My schedule has been tight, but I really wanted to let all of you know I'm still doing this. Updates for this will be random, but hopefully weekly. They'll be shorter as well, again I apologize :/**

**From here on out I'm removing the apostrophes so, instead of 'Cinder' and 'Ruby' you'll just see Cinder and Ruby. Just remember: Cinder is Ruby and Ruby is Cinder. Much easier this way.**

Part 3. Hands On

"Go. Again." Ruby seethed. The body-swapped duo now found themselves in the library. It being later at night meant less prying eyes trying to figure out why a young girl was teaching a grown woman how to walk properly.

Cinder, now in her Haven school uniform, stood straight and rigid. "Like this?" She questioned. The ebony-haired woman sashayed up the non-fiction section with an extreme exaggeration in hip-sway.

"How was that?" Cinder asked.

"You make me look like a fool." Ruby spat. She dropped her head down onto the desk, making a decent 'thud' in the process. They'd been doing this for countless hours now. With basically no progress at all.

One step forward, two steps back was the best way to sum it up.

Ruby would show Cinder how to do something, Cinder would fail miserably at it, and so on. As much as Ruby hated her situation, she was sure she could handle this... body much better than her former. It was aggravating no less. There was no way in _hell _she'd let that girl leave here in _her _body acting like a bumbling fool. Reputation was everything, especially when you've got a less than desirable organization to operate.

So Ruby continued to watch, well, herself prance up and down the section. "For the eleventh time..." The crimsonette sighed, "I don't walk like that. Just watch me-" Ruby stood up, straightened her posture and glided down the Isle. One smooth footstep after the other. "See, you're over-complicating it."

"W-Well it's harder than it looks!" Cinder huffed. "I mean w-with your long legs a-and your shoes, and don't even get me started on your... y-your..." she trailed off, thoughts wandering off to what she had found in Cinder's dorm room dresser a few minutes ago.

"My what?" Ruby tutted.

"Uh... long story s-short, I'm r-really uncomfortable in what I'm wearing right now..." Cinder muttered. "P-Plus it's not fair! You've been lecturing me for hours now. When is it my turn?"

Ruby winced a hearing such a whiny tone, "Turn? Oh Red." She laughed. "What is there to learn?"

Cinder put a finger to her chin and went off in deep thought, "Hmm... oh! How about this: a... hot plate of cookies just falls in your lap; show me your reaction."

"Yay... what a delight." Ruby droned.

"Ha! See you can't be me either!" Cinder said triumphantly.

"Keep it down." Ruby hissed. Stormy eyes darted around the empty library. "The last thing we need is for someone to find us."

"Fine but I think -mm-pf." Cinder's tone had remained the same, so Ruby had reached up and placed her palm over Cinder's mouth. "It's... obvious you're going to need more work than me." Ruby withdrew her hand and stood back. "We shall remain here until I see you're competent enough to leave. Now-" she swayed over to a nearby worktable, pulled out a chair and sat down. "Where were we?"

Cinder let out a throaty and annoyed sigh. She sauntered to the end of the section in a slump and attempted "The walk" for the umpteenth time.

For one reason or another, Cinder had a feeling of pride wash over her. Internally patting herself on the back for being able to retain her same attitude while still getting the point across, all while in a tiny, adorable girls body. Not to mention how precarious the situation had been.

She watched... Ruby (herself?) as she continued to go up and down the literary section. She winced when she couldn't count on her fingers how many times the walk failed. However as the night tore on, she was slowly but surely getting better.

_'It only took four hours...'_

Even then, the walk _still _hadn't been perfected. But there was bigger fish to fry, as far as Ruby was concerned; tonight was going to be a long night.

"Alright. Enough... walking. Let's try talking." Ruby stood up and addressed Cinder.

"O-kay, I'm pretty sure I know how to talk."

"Is that so? Well then here's a scenario: pretend I'm Emerald and I've just woken up. How do you address me?" Ruby laid out the pretend scenario. Cinder took a small breath and began, "Uhh, morning Emerald! How'd you sleep?" The ebony-haired woman's voice was one too many octaves higher than Ruby deemed acceptable.

"Ugh, no no. Not how _you _or... me... or... whatever would do it."

"W-What?" Cinder questioned. Perplexed by Ruby's poor explanation.

"Just think how _I _would say it. Try again." Ruby forgave Cinder and allowed her to have another go at it.

"A-hem. Well heey theree Emeraald. Sleep okayy?" Cinder's tone had dropped to an almost manly state, dragging out almost all of the vowels in each word.

"Oh, come, on. This isn't fair." Cinder whined, "Can't I teach you at least one thing?" The woman put on a pouty face. It was effective, but not as effective as it could've been if they were in their proper bodies.

"I'm not some pet you just teach. But fine. This shouldn't take long anyway." Ruby slyly replied.

"Kay, since we're on the morning topic, you enter the cafeteria and... well get breakfast. What would i, or you, get?" The woman explained.

"I don't eat breakfast." Ruby stated plainly.

"What?!" Cinder backpedaled, stunned by what was just said. "How could you not eat breakfast?"

"In my line of work there's... simply a lack of time for such events."

"Time, shmime. You're just gonna have to get used to it. Plus you're a student aren't you? What'd you mean by 'Line of work?'"

Ruby scrounged for an answer, obviously not wanting the truth come out. "Nevermind. We need to wrap this up soon."

"Yeah, Yang and Weiss are probably looking for you." Cinder couldn't help but smile. Glad she didn't have to deal with people constant shadowing over her. Not in this body.

"Children..." Ruby sighed. "Look, we meet up here tomorrow evening. Just make sure no one finds out in the meantime."

"Right." Cinder nodded.

Ruby rolled her eyes at the happy look plastered on Cinder's face before taking off in the opposite direction. For the first time in a long time, she felt worry wash over her. There was just too much to chance in the situation. If that girl messed anything up regarding her plans here at Beacon, the repercussions were possibly detrimental.

Cinder held far differing thoughts about their situation. It was slightly frightening to be in such an older position, but on the flip-side; it was a challenge. One she really wanted to overcome. Cinder tried to make most of what she was given, so why not make it a little fun?

So long as they both kept it among themselves, Cinder and Ruby could work together to overcome such an odd scenario.

But their secrecy may have already been lost.

_10 minutes earlier..._

If there was one thing Weiss Schnee hated more than poor grades, it was being late. No matter the context the heiress would always go out of her way to be early -or at the very least- on time. She held a pretty good track record as well, never late for a single thing in her entire lifetime.

What was an intense late-night study session, quickly morphed into one of those "out of her way" situations. She had borrowed a book from the library a few days earlier and tomorrow was the deadline to return it. And seeing as her study time had finished roughly fifteen minutes before midnight, Weiss had all but stormed out of the room and down to Beacon's extravagant library. Hellbent on returning the book _on time._

The heiress rushed down the final corridor that led to the library. She didn't have a clue as to why it remained open so late, but that was a factor currently playing into her hand. So she decided not to question it further.

The white-haired girl made the final turn and stalked into the eerily quiet library. Her wedged heels making a soft pitter-patter on the shorn carpet. She came up to a small chute next to the main reception desk, opened it, and deposited the book inside it.

With a content smile and a small yawn, Weiss commenced her trip back to the dorm room. Just as she got passed the reception desk, a familiar and faint voice caught her attention.

_"Look, we meet up here tomorrow evening. Just make sure no one finds out in the meantime."_

_"Right." _

Weiss froze. She immediately identified the first voice as Ruby's. And the second was that Cinder.

"What're they doing here?" Weiss whispered to herself. She and Yang had been looking for her since earlier that evening. The blonde hadn't ceased in her search, and was currently out looking for her crimsonette of a sister.

Before Weiss could think any further, she heard a chair creak and footfalls heading in her direction. The library was dimly lit, but still bright enough to be seen. Thinking on her feet, she quickly surmounted the reception desk and hid behind it. Once the footfalls had passed, she peeked over the counter to see Cinder turn the corner by the exit. The sound of a door opening in the background signaled Ruby had gone out the back way.

Weiss let out her held breath and quickly resumed her thoughts.

What were they doing?

Why so late?

Why did no one need to find out?

Those were some of the questions floating around in Weiss' mind. But she did have one thing already made up;

"I need to tell Yang."

_**A/N **_**Was that confusing? Idk, let me know if I should keep the apostrophes, or if you guys like it better this way. Thanks for reading, next chapter will be out sooner than later.**


	4. Part 4

_**A/N**_** I want to thank ****Baconpwn for their awesome review. Glad I can provide such a story! This chapter is the shortest that you'll see, I cut it short because it's the last of the intro chapters before the fic actually develops.**

**Thanks for all those reviews, fav's, and follows! This will be getting regular updates until completion!**

Part 4. Unfold

Cinder returned to her dorm later that evening. Hoping Mercury and Emerald were fast asleep by now; she delicately opened the door and slipped inside. She grimaced however, upon seeing the expectant -and slightly annoyed faces of her would-be compatriots.

Mercury was sitting on the floor, using the side of his bed for something to lean against. Emerald was standing in the middle of the room, most likely pacing around while she waited.

Mercury tossed his comic book to the side and eyed Cinder, "Finally... she shows." He droned.

Emerald gave him a nasty look before addressing the woman, "Sorry, we were just waiting. That's all." She attempted to excuse Mercury's poor greeting.

Cinder grinned. She closed the door behind her and looked to Emerald, "It's all good. No worries."

The crimson-eyed girl raised an eyebrow. Cinder took note of it, seeing how that response wasn't very "Cinder-like"

_"Just think how I would say it..."_

"I... mean no worries about you not getting punished. Yeah." Cinder stated with questionable firmness.

Mercury's expression now matched Emerald's. Slightly confused by the odd behavior. Luckily it still wasn't enough to raise serious suspicion.

"We were waiting for you so we could go over tomorrow's plans. You wanted us to attend one of those training classes with the other students, right?" Emerald explained.

"You said something about 'adding more people to the list'." Mercury cut in.

Amber eyes looked around nervously. Not having any clue what those two were talking about, Cinder thought on her feet, and came up with an impromptu idea, "How about... you..." she struggled to find words, "Take the day off? Yes. A... holiday, from... the stuff we do."

Mercury grinned, Emerald frowned. "A day off?" The mint-haired girl said incredulously.

"I'm not arguing." Mercury sounded from behind.

Emerald still didn't buy it. Cinder _never _gave 'days off'. She even remembered the time she had asked for one, and all Cinder had done was triple her work load. "What about the list?"

Cinder shrugged and sat down on her bed, "What list?"

Emerald flicked out her scroll and opened, well, a list. "This one?"

Cinder gasped. As far as she could see, there were several students on it. Some of them familiar. She really started to question what in the world was going on here. A plan? A list? It would seem that Cinder and her cronies were up to something? But what...

She stamped that thought out however, as Emerald was still awaiting an answer. The ebony-haired woman regained some composure and waved the studious dual-wielder off, "N-Nevermind it? And... take the day off?" She said with an unsure shrug.

"Just listen to her Em." The silver-haired boy spoke. His voice a little demanding.

With hesitation, Emerald followed orders -as strange as they were. She shifted her focus away and towards her side of the room. Her facial expression showed confusion, but she was all but analytic about the situation.

_'Eating cookies, and giving days off...? Somethings not right.' _She mulled to herself.

For now she'd just go to sleep.

There was a meeting with Roman in a few days. Hopefully that might clear things up a bit. For all she knew, this was all apart of Cinder's plan. The woman was sort of like a wild card, and the last thing Emerald wanted to do was make the fire mage livid.

_**######**_

_**'SLAM!'**_

Went the aft bathroom door of team RWBY's dorm room. Weiss and Yang, dressed in their Beacon uniforms, winced in conjunction at the loud sound.

Doing up her shoelaces, Blake looked to Yang, "Something wrong with Ruby?" She asked.

Yang's gaze shifted from the door, to Blake, and back again. "I'm not entirely sure..."

Weiss perked up a little. Shifting uneasily as she vividly remembered what she had seen the previous evening. Ruby and Cinder. Something about them 'keeping things a secret' and 'no one must know'. It made Weiss feel… well, uneasy. Cinder herself has the gift of charm, basically rendering those around her under her control. And while she seemed nice on the surface; Weiss didn't buy it one bit. Something about that ebony-haired witch _screamed _the fact that she's up to something. The possibility of that something dealing with Ruby wasn't acceptable for the heiress. Ruby is her first legitimate friend, and felt the vocational need to look out for the huntress-to-be.

She took a seat on her bed, fixed the wrinkles in her skirt, and shifted her focus to Yang, who was resting now on her own bunk, apparently playing games on her scroll.

"Yang, I need to tell you something rather important." The heiress spoke up.

The blonde set her scroll down, and looked to Weiss from her top-bunk, "Sup?"

"It's… about Ruby."

Yang's expression shifted a bit, "What about her?"

"Late last night," Weiss began, "I had a book to return to the library, I didn't want it to be overdue so I went right away."

Yang nodded along, knowing Weiss and her astute attitude. "But, when I was down there, I saw Ruby with that Cinder. And they mentioned something about, not wanting anyone to find out, and, they're meeting up again tomorrow. Same time? Or something." Weiss explained. The heiress herself was still not quite sure what to make of it. Harmless interaction, or something more?

Who knows?

Yang's eyebrows furled in confusion, but Blake beat her to the punch, "Cinder? Why would she be hanging around Ruby?"

"That's what bothers me. She's what, a senior student? So what's her involvement with Ruby?" Weiss added.

The brawler nodded contentedly, a less surprised expression gracing her features. "I'll talk to her about it a lunch. It's probably nothing anyway." She assured.

Unbeknownst to Weiss and Blake, Yang's take on this new stipulation was the polar opposite of the others. Outside she looked plain as day, seemingly soaking up the situation. But inside she was grinning with mischief. She was definitely going to approach Ruby about this. She's her sister for crying out loud! But, let's just say she wouldn't be _entirely _wrong with her assumptions.

_**A/N **_**Short, I know I know. Sry...**

**This will be updated every Sunday and Wednesday (Hopefully) until completion! Remember that ideas are always accepted, and continue being awesome!**


	5. Part 5

_**A/N **_**Back again with another chapter! A rather interesting one at that. I came up with an interesting idea as to how they switched bodies, and I think you'll like it. **

**A quick note. This fic is not going to be just jokes and things based off of what Kino has drawn. This is a story, and I'm marketing it as such. It's gotta have plot too.**

**Thanks to 'Exodus2150' for some great ideas in this chapter! Enjoy everyone! **

Part 5. I Must Be Dreaming

_'Ruby...'_

She opened her eyes, a endless white void in-front of her. Quietly in the distance, several slow glass clicks sounded. Slowly nearing her.

"Mrgh... where am I?" Ruby murmured. Her eyes still fluttered open, her body feeling stiff from laying on what looked like the ground; but was more white-washed void.

That's when she realized something...

"Whoa! I'm me!" She shouted, seeing her familiar rose-patterned, and black tank-top night clothes plastered on her. She jolted up as the clicking became closer. A sense of ease and wonder washing over her.

"I'm me again! No more older lady stuff!" She cheered as she squealed in relief.

_'Ruby...'_

"Huh?" This time the clicking was close enough to grab her attention, also accompanied by a scarily familiar voice.

"Who's there? W-Wait, where am I? W-What's going on!?" Her crimson-tinted locks swayed as her head darted around the void. The clicking was right next to her now, and a figure appeared out of the blinding white as if it was mist.

"Hello Ruby."

This time it hit her, slowly the girl swiveled around, not really wanting to. "C-Cinder?"

"Yes, it is me."

the crimsonette's eyes came in contact with none other than Cinder Fall. In her elegant dress. She wore a cheerful expression, one that greatly contrasted how the woman usually looked.

"Uhm, hi?" Ruby said with a nervous caution.

"You don't recognize me?" Cinder said, gesturing downwards.

"Of course I do, I am you, or was you? Or maybe I am _still _you and this is all a dream? Or maybe-"

"Hush. Ruby. The night of the dust robbery many months ago? Ring any bells?"

An alarm immediately went off in Ruby's head. "Hey! Yeah! That was you!" She shouted, plain her finger up at Cinder.

The woman chuckled and pushed Ruby's hand back, "I'm surprised you didn't get it sooner. You were wearing the dress a few days ago."

"Well kinda hard when the silly thing is on you, b-b-but that's not the point, you're in very big trouble!" The girl started pointing again.

"You mean she's in trouble." Cinder spoke with a small laugh.

Ruby stalled, confused, "Huh?" She repeated. "Who's she?"

"Cinder Fall."

"Huh?" The scarlet-teen said again.

The ebony-haired woman let out a small guff and crossed her arms, "Would you like to know why you switched bodies?"

Ruby's outlook shot up, "Heck yeah I do."

"Well..." Cinder paused to find the right words, "I need your help."

"With...?"

"Allow me to explain. You know Cinder, or me, as probably not the nicest or patient of people, correct?"

Silver eyes did an exaggerated roll, "That's an understatement..."

"Yes, we'll that isn't the true Cinder. The Cinder you see right now, me, is the last shred of her positive and happy subconscious."

Ruby nodded, slowly soaking it in. So far it made sense. She assumed Cinder had a nice side somewhere. "I'm following." The girl affirmed.

"Good. Now as you probably know; Cinder is up to something of the negative variety. Something big. I'm tasking you, to stop her, or me, or in this case you, from doing it." Cinder continued.

"O-kay... so how exactly did the switch happen?" Ruby still wanted to know.

"It was me. Through your semblance, and her semblance it was possible. I picked you because I needed someone with great positivity, and an overall nice person. Cinder never surrounds herself with those kinds of people, so it was never possible. But with Beacon there was more to choose from. I could've used anyone, but your angelic personality gave me the energy to do the switch, without it; I was too weak." Cinder took pause to see if Ruby was still listening.

The crimsonette still wasn't one hundred percent sure, "Sooo... because I'm nice it gave you the boost to make a switch? But how?"

"I needed a link between semblances. Any common aspect would've worked. In yours and our case, it was that both of our semblances didn't need the use of external equipment to function fully. Your speed is there no matter what, for Cinder it's her fire magic. Something that's engrained into her personality. The rest was simple." The woman finished.

"So that allows you to do brainswaps and stuff?"

"No, no. Because I don't operate at the forefront of her mind; I get more control of what goes on in the background while she's sleeping or being inactive. That's why it happened overnight."

"Ahh, okay...?" Ruby sighed, somewhat understanding.

"So I need your help. I need you to-"

Suddenly the Cinder standing in front of Ruby began to fade, "No! Ugh, she's waking up. Ruby I'm sorry but I have to go."

"B-But you said you needed help? What do I do?"

"No time, I have to leave. I'm sure you'll figure it out." Cinders figure slowly became consumed by the white void, eventually her figure disappeared completely.

"No! W-Wait! I-" Before Ruby could react, her vision became white at the corners, and soon the blinding void took over, everything fading from brilliant white to total darkness...

_**######**_

"No!" Cinder shot up in bed, hot and panting heavily. Her head did a lightning fast survey of the room, but things were moving to fast to see what was going on. "Oh no..." She said with a small shiver. Slowly and not wanting to, she glanced down at her chest, a half groan half moan ringing from her lips.

"I'm still her..."

The sizable cleavage said it all. What she just experienced was a dream, and she's still stuck in this woman's body. She groaned again and sat fully upright in bed, swinging her legs off the side and clearing the sleep from her eyes.

Cinder scratched her arm, feeling uncomfortable in this dreaded Haven uniform. She chose to sleep in said uniform because she didn't feel right going through a dresser that doesn't belong to her. Definitely not making that mistake twice.

"What time is it...?" She yawned. By the looks the gold shine coming in through the window; it was extremely early. However Cinder remembered it was a Sunday, meaning no class and free time to sleep in. She shuffled back down in her bed and attempted to throw the sheets back over her form.

But as if fate had a bone to pick with her, the dorm room door creaked open. The silent shuffling footfalls making Cinder unable to resume sleeping. The woman rolled over to face whomever entered the room, her groggy eyes making contact with two familiar figures.

"Finally she gets up. We were trying to wake you up for ten minutes." Mercury's oh-so familiar tone droned like a broken record. "Em thought you died, she was almost crying." The silver-haired boy spoke with a laugh.

Emerald jabbed him in the side, "S-Shut up," Her gaze went from Mercury's snarl to Cinder's, "We came back to see if you got up yet, we're leaving soon."

The fire-mage slipped up from her bed, wondering where they were 'going' and why both Mercury and Emerald were dressed in their regular combat gear, "W-What's going on?"

"We need to leave early? You didn't forget, did you?" Mercury said, not making eye contact.

Cinder grinned. Uncharacteristically so, "What? Pfft, of course I remembered. You shouldn't... uh... talk to me like that." Her voice raised, "I'm... your superior!"

Mercury raised a hand to speak, but was cut off by Emerald, "Sorry ma'am, it won't happen again."

Cinder nodded, _"Hey, this is kinda fun. No! No! No! You do not enjoy being her, you do not!"_

_"Admit it, it was fun."_

_"No, bad Ruby, bad."_

Cinder regained some composure, "Well then; lead the way?"

An eyebrow raised above a crimson eye, "You're leaving in your... uniform?"

"Yes? We're just going to get breakfast, right?"

Mercury facepalmed, "Were meeting with Roman, remember? Roman Torchwick? Guy with the dumbass hat? We're leaving this early to avoid being seen."

Cinder tried not to gasp, internally she panicked a little, _"Torchwick? Something isn't right about any of this..."_

"I'll go change then." The woman reassured.

Emerald cut Mercury off from saying something stupid again. Menacingly, she looked to him, "Do I really have to censor you all the time?"

"I'm just playin'."

"Don't. I'd rather not get barbecued."

"Whatever."

As they waited, Cinder gently closed the washroom door behind her, and after a second of silence; groaned in intense worry. The mention of Torchwick, the crazy dream, AND the fact that they're all connected was giving concern for her wellbeing.

It was the dream that bothered her the most however. The Cinder she saw tasked her with... something? But it was relieving to find out how they got into this mess in the first place. Still if this was Cinder's subconscious' doing she would need to speak to her again to find out exactly what she 'wanted'

Groaning again (for the umpteenth time that morning.) Cinder glanced around the dorm washroom, her saffron eyes landing on the recent bane of her existence.

The Dress.

It sat folded on the far end of the vanity countertop, resting there like it was teasing her.

"Stupid dress..."

_**######**_

Back outside, Mercury was already getting impatient. To quell him, Emerald proposed a question that'd been on her mind for a while now. "What do you think is up with her?"

"Huh?" The butcher sounded disinterested, "Eh, who knows, it's probably all apart of her 'master plan'."

"Could be, but I'm not really buying it, maybe it's-"

"AAHH!" Cinder's shrill sounded through the thin washroom door. Emerald shot up, "Cinder? You alright?" She stepped over to the door, a worried expression on her face.

"Yeah, I'm- Ah! F-Fine, just- Agh! great!" The woman sounded back. Small pings and bangs could be heard inside, but the thing that worried Emerald the most was-

"Is something burning?" Mercury said with a sniff.

"Cinder you sure you're alright?"

"Gah! Fine, I'm just- whoa! Fine."

Trying to be a good subordinate, Emerald gestured for Mercury to wait outside. With him gone she, gripped the brass doorknob and shoved the thin piece of oak open.

What she saw was the exact opposite of what she had in mind...

There stood Cinder, in the middle of the washroom, several items knocked into the floor and random scorch marks throughout.

The ebony-haired woman was clad in her signature dress. Or, what was left of it. Singed in several places, with the embroidery still glowing a soft orange; the she looked to Emerald with a sheepish grin. The mint-haired girl merely blushed at how... modestly, the dress covered Cinder's body.

"Uh..." the dark-skinned girl murmured.

_"Oh my god..." _Cinder thought on her feet, thinking what the real Cinder would do. "Close the door!" She shouted, throwing her hands forward. On accident however, the remains of the dress charged, and fire shot forward, directly at Emerald's feet.

"Geez!" She squawked and leapt back, tripping and falling on her rear.

Covering herself, Cinder glared and gripped the door, "Next time I won't miss." She threatened just before it hinged itself shut.

The woman stepped back from the door, all the way back to the rear of the washroom, "So... that's what her semblance is... whoops..."

_"Maybe she's right. Maybe I do need a lot of work...but that probably bought me some extra time, that was mean and nasty right?" _

"Uggghh..." Cinder lamented. She backed up against a wall and promptly slid down It. "What am I gonna do...?"

A dream, a massive semblance fail, and an upcoming meeting with a notorious criminal.

Today was just not on her side.

_**A/N **_**So how was that dream stuff? Probably just made this more confusing, didn't I? Oh, well. I liked how I handled that, with a little redeeming on Cinder's part. **

**Let me know what you guys think. Next chapter will be more Ruby (Cinder) focused. **

**Thanks again!**


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